


Sun Sickness

by stolen_pen_name23



Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heat Stroke, Hurt/Comfort, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Padawan Anakin Skywalker, Post-Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Pre-Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Protective Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sickfic, Whump, Whumptober 2020, Worried Anakin Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stolen_pen_name23/pseuds/stolen_pen_name23
Summary: Obi-Wan and Anakin get stranded in the desert on Jakku when their speeder dies and they have to walk through the heat to a small civilization. Anakin is used to the weather but Obi-Wan is not.This is a prompt fill for Whumptober Prompt No. 14: Heat Exhaustion.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951717
Comments: 23
Kudos: 190
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Twenty Questions

Obi-Wan looked at the broken-down speeder with disdain. Anakin, for as young as he was, was better at fixing mechanical things than Obi-Wan, but even he couldn’t magically fix the burnt out transmission. 

He looked at their surroundings dejectedly. Not for the first time, he wished Qui-Gon was there to tell him what to do. 

He pushed that thought down quickly – it would get him nowhere. He needed to get his Padawan out of this place before they ran out of water or before they were attacked by sand people – whichever came first. 

Despite the stakes of the situation, Obi-Wan’s young Padawan seemed relatively unbothered by it. Anakin was used to harsh climates and difficult situations and right now, Obi-Wan was grateful for that. The last thing he needed right now was a scared child to compound his own anxieties. 

Obi-Wan knew a small civilization was only 10 miles north. That’s where they had been heading when the speeder broke down. Once there, they could borrow a communicator and call the Jedi council to send a ship for them. It would just require a bit of walking under the relentless sunbeams that bathed Jakku’s harsh landscape. 

“Alright, Padawan,” Obi-Wan said as he slung their small canteen over his shoulder. “We’re going to have to walk the rest of the way. Do you think you’re up for that?”

Anakin nodded eagerly. “Yes, Master!”

“Good, let’s go.”

* * *

The Master and Padawan pair walked through the sandy desert for a few hours. Obi-Wan made Anakin drink water regularly, but after about the fourth time, Anakin asked, “Master, why aren’t you drinking any water?”

“Because we need to make it last.”

“But you’re making me drink the water.” 

“You need it.”

“So do you.”

“Fine,” Obi-Wan said. He took a small sip of water. He longed to drink more but his Padawan came first. 

After walking even longer, Obi-Wan could tell Anakin was getting bored. He had taken to asking Obi-Wan every possible question he could think of.

“Master, how many planets have you been on?”

“I don’t know, Padawan.”

“Have you been to a lot of planets?”

“Yes, I’ve been to very many planets.”

“Cool! I’ve only been to six planets so far, except this one feels like Tatooine so I don’t know if I should count it.” 

Obi-Wan hummed in response. He thought about the starry-eyed gaze Anakin had every time they went to a new planet on a new mission. He enjoyed seeing the look of wonder on the child’s face. It reignited his own childish wonder. 

“Master?”

“Yes?”

“What is your favorite planet to go to?”

“I don’t know, I guess Coruscant.”

“Why?”

“It’s my home.”

“Were you born on Coruscant?”   
  


“No.”

“Where were you born?”

“I don’t know. I was an orphan. One of the nurses at the orphanage recognized I was Force-sensitive and called the council. The Jedi tested me and took me in. I was a baby so I don’t remember any of it.”

“You’re not curious about where you’re from?” Anakin asked incredulously. 

“Not really. Master Yoda told me that any blood family I had is dead. The Jedi are the only family I’ve ever known. Coruscant is the only home I’ve ever known.”

“Oh,” Anakin whispered pensively. “What’s your favorite color?”

Obi-Wan stifled a laugh. He was amused by his Padawan’s quick and wandering mind. The rapid-fire questions distracted him from his own growing discomfort. He felt sweaty and dirty and he was thirstier than he had ever been in his life. He looked down at his Padawan and strengthened his resolve. “I guess I like the color blue.”

“Is that why your lightsaber is blue?”

“No, I think it was just a happy accident.”

“I also like blue. I hope I get a blue lightsaber like yours.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” 

“When will I get a lightsaber?”

“When you are ready.”

“When will I be ready?”

“When I say you are ready.”

Anakin huffed. “Can we get a loth cat?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because they need to be taken care of, and we’re going on missions all the time. It wouldn’t be fair to the cat.” 

“Do you think your parents were Force-sensitive?” Anakin asked, switching back to the topic of Obi-Wan’s mysterious past. 

“It’s a possibility.”

“Do you think they looked like you?”

“I suppose they would. I’ve never given it much thought,” Obi-Wan said, his voice was starting to rasp. 

“Are you alright, Master?”

“I’m fine,” he said, but his voice was still gravelly. “How about we walk quietly for a little while alright?”

“Alright, Master,” Anakin said, concern leaking into his voice. 

Obi-Wan looked at the seemingly endless desert before him. He really hoped they were getting closer and that they were on the right path. He was starting to feel nauseous and a pounding headache had formed behind his eyes. 

“Are we almost there?” Anakin asked after being miraculously quiet for a solid twenty minutes. 

“I don’t know, Padawan,” he rasped. 

“Master, you should drink some water.” 

Obi-Wan obliged his Padawan by taking a small sip. There wasn’t much left in their canteen and he needed to make sure Anakin was taken care of. 

“Look, over there! We should take a break in the shade,” Anakin said while pointing to a dark figure in the distance. 

Obi-Wan looked at where Anakin was pointing. He spotted an abandoned, crashed ship half-buried in sand. Its lip provided a small amount of shade. Part of him didn’t want to stop, but he knew they both could use a break. 

“Alright, only for a little bit.” 

When they got to the ship, Obi-Wan and Anakin sat down and leaned heavily against its side. Obi-Wan tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He moved to run his fingers through his sweaty hair, but he lowered his hand when he realized he was shaking. He tried to breathe deeply and center himself. 

“Master?”

“Yes, Anakin?” he answered shakily.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, Padawan. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“It’s just…” Anakin hesitated.

“It’s just what?”

“Back on Tatooine, when slaves were overworked or out in the sun too long, sometimes they started to look like how you look now. We called it sun sickness.” 

“Oh,” Obi-Wan said softly. Maybe he was worse off than he thought if his hyperactive Padawan was making such observations. “I’ll be fine once we get to the town and call for help. I’m okay, I promise.” 

Anakin looked at him warily. “Can I see your arm?”

“Whatever for?”

“I just want to look.”

Obi-Wan stuck out his arm and tried to keep it steady. Anakin gently rolled up Obi-Wan’s sleeve and felt his skin.

“Master, this isn’t good,” Anakin said nervously. “Your skin is cold and clammy. You have goosebumps. That’s not good. That’s how the slaves would get.”

Obi-Wan could sense Anakin’s anxiety rising. “Calm yourself, Padawan. It’s alright, I think we’re getting closer.”

“How much farther?”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out through the Force. Relief etched itself into his every feature. “We’re not far, Anakin. Probably about half a mile.” 

Anakin smiled widely before worry came back into his eyes. “Do you think you can make it that far?” 

“I appreciate your concern, Padawan, but I am more than capable of walking another half-mile,” Obi-Wan huffed. 

He regretted saying it though because as he stood up, he almost fell back to the ground again. He saw black spots in his vision and he swayed dangerously on his feet. He steadied himself on the side of the ship. 

“Master…”

“I’m okay, just give me a second,” Obi-Wan said, taking steadying breaths. He fought back nausea and opened his eyes again. “Alright, let’s go.”


	2. Kindness of Strangers

The walk was slow and arduous. Anakin was quiet, but Obi-Wan could feel the anxiety rolling off him in waves. He would need to work on that with him… later... when the world didn’t feel like it was tilting.

When they finally approached the outskirts of the town, they encountered an older woman hanging laundry on a clothesline. Anakin ran ahead and stopped at the woman’s feet. 

“We need help!” he exclaimed quickly to the surprised woman. “We got stranded and we need help. Please!”

“Slow down little one, slow down,” she said with a kind voice. “What’s going on?”

“Our speeder broke down in the middle of nowhere and I think my Master has sun sickness,” he said quickly. 

“Your Master?” she said warily, her eyes darkening. 

“No! Not like that! I’m free, he and his Master helped free me. He’s a Jedi and I’m his Padawan.”

Her eyes lightened again. She looked up and saw Obi-Wan staggering towards her small shack. She rushed out to him and grabbed his arm to steady him. He looked at her gratefully but didn’t say anything. She helped him into her small home and helped him lay down on a cot. He closed his eyes contentedly and hummed in gratitude. 

“Here,” she said, pressing a small clay cup to his lips. “Drink this. Slowly.”

The woman helped him sit up and Obi-Wan obediently took small sips of the blessedly cool water.

“I imagine you’re not feeling too good right now.”

“I’ll manage.”

She gave him a half-smile and took the cup from him when he was finished drinking from it.

Obi-Wan lay down fully on the cot and his eyes fluttered closed. It looked like he was on the edge of succumbing to sleep when his eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly. Too quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped an arm around his stomach.

“Easy there, young Jedi,” the woman said. “What’s the matter?”

“Anakin… where is...” he whispered hoarsely. 

“I’m right here, Master,” Anakin piped up from behind the woman. 

Obi-Wan’s shoulders fell in relief. “We need… We need to go home,” he whispered to the woman. “We need a communicator.”

“I don’t have one, but there’s a communal one farther into town.”

Obi-Wan moved to get up.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“We need to go home,” he repeated earnestly. He cringed a little bit at how young he sounded. 

“That may be so, but you’re not going anywhere in your current state. You need to cool down and rest,” the woman chided. “I’ll take your student to the communicator and we’ll reach out to whoever you need us to reach out to.”

Obi-Wan analyzed the woman’s Force presence for any mal intent. She seemed pure and full of light. 

“Fine,” he relented. “We need to contact the Jedi Council. Anakin knows the frequency.”

“Sounds like a plan,” the woman said. “Anakin, why don’t you come with me and we can go call for help together.” 

“I don’t want to leave him,” Anakin protested.

“It’s alright Anakin, I’ll be fine. Just don’t get into any trouble alright?”

“Okay,” Anakin said reluctantly. “We’ll be quick!”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said gratefully to the woman. “You have been most kind to us when you had no expectation to be.”

“If people needed an expectation of kindness, this would be a cruel world indeed, wouldn’t it?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “But still... thank you.”

“Of course,” the woman replied. “Before we go, we need to get you a little more cooled off.”

She dug through a small woven basket and pulled out a handful of rags. She wet them and motioned for Obi-Wan to take off his tunic. 

He pulled off the tunic and the woman laid the damp rags across his chest, his neck and his forehead. He sighed contentedly, relishing the cool feeling of the towels. 

“Will you be okay on your own?” she asked, concerned. 

“Yes, I’ll be fine, thank you.”

“We’ll be right back, Master!” Anakin said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Don’t get into any trouble, Padawan,” Obi-Wan managed to say in his most serious tone. 

“I won’t!” Anakin promised. “I’ll see you soon.”

Obi-Wan nodded and watched them leave. 

When he knew they were gone, he curled into himself and groaned softly. His stomach hurt and his headache was only making it worse. He really wished Qui-Gon were here. He always comforted him when he was sick or injured and the loss felt more acute now that he was lying vulnerable in some stranger’s home all by himself. He was on his own and the ache of that loneliness felt far worse than any “sun sickness” as Anakin called it – not that the sun sickness was a walk in the park. His muscles ached with cramps and he was fighting a difficult battle with nausea. Again, he moaned pathetically. He was glad that Anakin wasn’t there to see him in such a weakened state. 

At the thought of Anakin, his spirit warmed a little bit. The boy certainly kept his mind occupied and was proving to be a great companion if not a somewhat difficult student. He was very quickly growing attached to the young boy even though he knew it was against the code. He couldn’t help it. 

He continued to think about Anakin and all the new experiences he was going to show the boy. He let his thoughts circle around all of the possibilities as his eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

“Master, guess what!” Anakin yelled as he bounded into the small shack. “They’re sending someone for us, we’ll be back on Coruscant in a few hours. You’ll get to go to your favorite planet!”

Obi-Wan’s eyes were closed and he didn’t respond. He was lying curled up on his side, the washcloths had fallen off of him. 

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin questioned nervously.

“It’s okay, child. He’s just asleep,” the older woman said gently. “Let him rest. His body is exhausted.”

“Okay,” Anakin said, trying to push his anxious thoughts away. 

Anakin sat by Obi-Wan’s side, replacing the cool washcloths on his body and watching his chest expand and deflate with every breath. Every now and then Obi-Wan would mumble something quietly, but Anakin could never tell what it was. 

He talked with the woman a little bit but mostly he watched over Obi-Wan. He could vaguely sense Obi-Wan’s stress through their bond. On top of it all, he could also sense that Obi-Wan was desperately missing Qui-Gon. Anakin carded his small hand through Obi-Wan’s damp hair. 

“It will be alright Master,” he whispered, trying his best to comfort him. He must have been doing a decent job because Obi-Wan leaned into the touch. 

Anakin sighed in relief when he heard the sound of repulsor jets landing outside of the small home.

“Master! Wake up, someone is here!” He gently shook Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open. “What?” he asked, confused.

"Someone's here for us!"

“I believe someone needed an evac?” Master Plo said, stepping into the small space. 

“Hello, Master Plo,” Obi-Wan said, still a little groggy. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry you had to come all this way and…”

“Nonsense, Kenobi,” Master Plo said, his voice kind. “I’m glad to see you. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, or I will be,” Obi-Wan said. 

Plo Koon outstretched his hand and Obi-Wan took it gratefully. He looked around before his eyes landed on his discarded tunic. He put it back on before turning to the woman.“Thank you so much for all of your help. Here,” he said, handing her a few credits. “I don’t have much, but please take this. For your hospitality.”

“Really, there’s no need…”

“Please?”

She hesitated.“...Alright,” she relented, unable to argue with his pleading gaze. “Thank you, young Jedi. Please take care of yourself.”

He nodded and the three of them made their way back to Plo Koon’s ship. 

On the ship, Obi-Wan lay down on a small bunk and Anakin sat diligently by his side. 

He rolled his eyes as Anakin relentlessly asked more and more questions about his life, his interests, his dislikes and everything else he could possibly think of. But even still, he couldn’t help but feel less lonesome than he had in quite some time. 

**Author's Note:**

> So the little part where I talk about Obi-Wan's past is expanded on in my other fic, The Significance of Found Family if you're interested!


End file.
